Celebrating A Hollywood Legend!
When this man talks, you need to listen!
Gary Warner Kent is one of Hollywood’s most legendary Stuntmen, but he was much more than that…he was also a Director, Writer, Actor AND a large part of the inspiration for Brad Pitt’s character in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood!”
Brad Pitt’s performance as Cliff Booth was modeled after Tom Laughlin’s portrayal of “Billy Jack” in the 1971 film of that name, but the character was inspired by two stuntmen: Hal Needham and Gary Kent.
FYI: along with being a great stunt man, Needham directed several films as well, including “The Cannonball Run ” with Burt Reynolds!
As for Kent, you can read his fascinating story, as he tells it a rollicking tale of life in Hollywood!
Shadows & Light: Journeys With Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood
Kent shares all of the stories of his life in movies, and it’s 400+ pages that celebrate filmmaking!
Kent was born on a wheat ranch at Walla Walla, Washington, and attended my alma mater, the University of Washington in Seattle. Gary studied journalism, played football and pole-vaulted on the track team.
In l959 Kent moved to Hollywood, where over a 40-year period he worked with such luminaries as Jack Nicholson, Penny Marshall, Alan Arkin, James Caan, Bruce Willis and Garry Marshall.
Here’s Gary with a young Penny Marshall, one of the many Hollywood legends that Kent worked with – and the book is filled with great stories from these terrific Actors, Actresses, Writers, Directors and more!
Kent ended up working with such legendary Directors as Peter Bogdanovich, Brian De Palma, Richard Rush and Monte Hellman.
In fact, his first stunt work was as a stunt double for Jack Nicholson in Monte Hellman’s terrific westerns “Ride In The Whirlwind” and “The Shooting.”
Kent also did stunts for another Nicholson film, “Hells Angels On Wheels!”
As he writes in his book, some of the talent gathered for the film was not to be messed with:
“Now I found myself in Bakersfield once again, padded up to double Jack Nicholson, and mingling with Sonny Barger and the Oakland Angels, not a fuzzy, huggy bunch. The town was teeming with bad-boy bikers, all just begging for an ignition switch to kick-start the fireworks.”
This film is a classic slice of 60’s exploitation.
Check out the trailer:
Kent’s book is a rollicking tale of making low budget movies, but he also worked on some classic films as well.
He was Unit Production Manager on the classic 1974 film “Phantom of the Paradise”.
Brian DePalma’s rock musical included an electric performance by Paul Williams, who also wrote the entire soundtrack, a trip through rock history at the time, with doo wop, surf music and glam rock as well!
This brilliant film was remastered for blu-ray and includes a terrific conversation between Williams and Oscar-winning Director Guillermo Del Toro!
You can click here to see the movie trailer and find out all of the goodies that are part of the new blu-ray:
Perhaps the most riveting chapter of the book is called “Movies, Mayhem, And Murder!”
Gary’s “Charles Manson Moment!”
As depicted in Tarantino’s 2019 film, Kent ran into the notorious Manson cult while working at the Spahn Ranch – a riveting part of the film as well…
Here’s how Gary describes his first encounter with the murderer:
“Charles Manson’s handshake felt like a dead trout and he wouldn’t look me in the eye. We were on the Spahn Ranch, the hangout for Manson and his creepy-crawlies…to me, Manson was as shifty and full of hot air as a corn-eating cow.”
This is exactly the story that Tarantino tells in “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood”, and reading Kent’s description of the events surrounding his time with Manson is chilling.
Kent has had an incredible career: in 1985 he wrote and directed “Rainy Day Friends”, which won Best Special Stunt in a Motion Picture at the International Stuntman Awards.
Here’s the plot: a tough street kid from the L.A. barrios is discovered during an examination to have stomach tumors. During his hospitalization, he must learn to cope with not only his medical condition, but with people such as other patients, social workers and hospital personnel who come from a totally different world than he does–and they have to learn to cope with him.
Check out the trailer for this terrific, gritty film:
There is so much more packed into every page, and if you want to get your own copy, reach out to Gary on his Facebook page to get an autographed copy!
Click here and support this great Artist!
https://www.facebook.com/gary.w.kent
Of course, a story this good needed a film made about it as well!
“Danger God!”
In 2019, this terrific documentary came out telling more of Gary’s story – from the people he worked with, and his own recollections as well – and it’s wild!
Here is the trailer:
I devoured the book and loved the documentary as well.
Support Gary by purchasing a signed copy of his book directly from him!
You all know that I love books about Hollywood, and this brand new book also features Jack Nicholson in a starring role:
“The Big Goodbye” tells the story of the creation of “Chinatown”, one of the greatest films ever made…and the book is packed with revealing details and fascinating insight…click here to see more:
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Let me know how many of Gary’s wild stunts you’ve seen from these great cult films!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Art, Books / Media, Classic Rock, Cult Movies, Exploitation films, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Hollywood, Independent Cinema, Memoirs, Movies, Music, Obscure Movies, Obscure Music, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, Sexploitation Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Uncategorized
VERY COOL BOOK !! and Life, Fantastic!! I’ve seen all the movies a couple of times or maybe too too many times. I loved,it every moment. I edited the film “Danger God”. It was very tough to edit down, there was so much more we wanted to put in the doc. Great write up John. Gary is such a treasure,
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WOW! So glad to hear that! “Danger God” is a terrific look at a great career!
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I absolutely love his description of meeting Charles Manson. Spot on!
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Yes, if only anyone could have realized the evil that was about to come out…
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Exactly!
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I’ve never heard of Gary , but how fascinating
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I became interested because I heard that Brad Pitt’s character was based on a real person who interacted with Manson!
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that is so cool, I had no idea
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His job is an important part of filmmaking!
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I did not know the backstory behind the Hollywood stunt double. I think I’d find this one interesting. Thanks, John!
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It’s great and the book helps him as well! Terrific stories from a really nice guy!
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I appreciate the post.
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Gary has had a terrific career, John. It must be a bit tough on stuntmen because they don’t get the recognition and fame. I love Jack Nicholson, an amazing actor.
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It’s a fascinating inside look at Hollywood in the 60’s, 70’s and beyond…he’s a great guy and I’m trying to help support his memoir…thanks for reading!
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You are a wonderful friend, John.
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I have certainly seen most of the films mentioned, though I confess I had never heard of gary. I have also not yet seen Tarantino’s latest film. He certainly had an interesting career, John.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, the documentary about him is fascinating…a great guy!
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